NML vs Met Opera on Demand
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NML
Access a vast library of classical music recordings with extensive metadata. Create personalized playlists and utilize study tools. Ideal for music enthusiasts and students seeking in-depth information.
- 2.73 million+ classical music tracks
- Rich metadata (composer bios, program notes)
- Customizable playlists
- Playlists created by educators
- Study tools and resources
- Latest releases from over 1000 labels
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Naxos Music Library (NML) offers over 2.73 million tracks of fine classical music recordings from more than a thousand labels with their latest releases. What sets NML apart from other streaming platforms comes down to metadata. Each piece of music comes with a rich set of information, from composers’ biographies to programme notes, instrumentation to publisher’s details, all authored by qualified musicologists. Individual subscribers and authorised users of institution subscribers can create their own playlists on top of having access to playlists created by their teachers and professors for their assignments. NML is more than just a huge classical music audio library available for streaming. The Resources section inside the library offers many valuable add-ons and study tools available through accessing the web version. Please send comments to customer.service@naxos.com to help us further improve our app.
Met Opera on Demand
Access an extensive library of over 950 full-length Metropolitan Opera performances, including "Live in HD" broadcasts and classic telecasts. Enjoy instant streaming on your devices with multi-language subtitles and audio descriptions available.
- Stream 900+ full-length Met performances
- Includes "Live in HD" series
- Access classic telecasts and radio broadcasts
- Multi-language subtitles and audio descriptions
- Continue watching and listening feature
- Bookmark favorite performances
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Start your 7-day Free Trial or subscribe now in the app, through your iTunes account! Met Opera on Demand delivers instant and unlimited streaming of more than 950 full-length Metropolitan Opera performances on your iPad & iPhone—and on your HDTV or connected sound system as well via Apple TV with AirPlay. The Met Opera on Demand iPad/iPhone app is free to download. Explore the app and the catalog, and enjoy a sampling of free preview content. Now you can sign-up for the 7-day Free Trial or purchase a subscription right inside the app for complete and unlimited access to everything available. Highlights of this unparalleled collection of opera performances include: • More than 180 presentations from every season of the Met’s award-winning "Live in HD" series of global movie-theater transmissions, featuring opera superstars Angel Blue, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Roberto Alagna, Elīna Garanča, Jonas Kaufmann, Deborah Voigt, and many more • Classic Met telecasts dating from 1977, including "Aida" starring Leontyne Price, "La Bohème" starring Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto, and more • More than 600 radio broadcast performances dating back to 1935, representing nearly all of the most popular operas ever composed and many of the greatest singers in Met history including Björling, Callas, Corelli, Horne, Nilsson, Sutherland, Tebaldi, Te Kanawa, and Tucker • Met Opera on Demand: Now Playing, a new 24-hour audio stream of extraordinary Met performances • Select live radio broadcasts All Met Opera on Demand videos include English subtitles, and many recent HD performances also include subtitles in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish, as well as English Closed Captions (CC.) Videos released 2022 and later will also include Audio Description (AD). Subscribers can use AirPlay to watch all videos with the full offering of multi-language subtitles on their TV via Apple TV. New operas are added every month. The app also offers a “Continue Watching and Listening” feature that allows you to stop at any time and resume right where you left off whenever you’re ready. You can bookmark your favorite performances for easy access at any time as well. If you subscribe in the app: Met Opera on Demand offers two auto-renewing subscription types available for purchase through your iTunes Account: Monthly (with a free 7-day trial for first time purchasers) and Annual. Payment will be charged (after any free trial period, if applicable) to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase, at the price listed under "Choose Your Offer" (currently $14.99 US Dollars for a Monthly subscription and $149.99 US Dollars for an Annual subscription.) Depending on your App Store country or region, prices might be listed and payments charged in your local currency, US Dollars, or Euros. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your iTunes Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and the auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. The Metropolitan Opera’s Terms & Conditions (http://www.metopera.org/user-information/terms-and-conditions/) and Privacy Policy (http://www.metopera.org/user-information/privacy-policy/) also apply.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NML at 3.0 against Met Opera on Demand's 2.3. NML also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (40% vs 27%). Met Opera on Demand's advantage is chart position (#176 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Met Opera on Demand sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. NML asks for nothing beyond the download.
NML holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 66 and 35 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of NML's written reviews are positive against 27% of Met Opera on Demand's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on August 28, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NML | Met Opera on Demand |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (66 ratings) — better | 2.3 (35 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 39.5% of reviews — better | 27.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 66 — better | 35 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #176 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.3 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 70 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Naxos Digital Services Ltd. | Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. |
Customer experience
NML
Met Opera on Demand
User reviews
NML
From 66 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎵 Exceptional classical music library and selection
- 📚 Comprehensive coverage of albums and recordings
- 🎧 High-quality audio on web/browser version
- 📱 Offline listening capability
- 🎯 Easy search functionality when working
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and app instability
- 🔐 Session expires too quickly and frequent forced logouts
- 📱 iPad/tablet UI incompatibility and portrait-only orientation
- 🔊 Poor audio quality (robotic, glitchy, over-compressed)
- ⚠️ Offline access requires constant re-authentication
Met Opera on Demand
From 35 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Excellent content and performance quality
- 🎥 Immersive opera viewing experience
- 🎶 Vast catalog of operas and recordings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and technical issues
- 💾 Inability to save progress or favorites
- 🔊 Subpar audio quality
- 📱 Lack of support for mobile devices and TVs
- 🔍 Poor search and navigation features
Bugs and requests
NML
Reported bugs
16 issues- App crashes during playback or when switching apps
- Audio stops when screen goes to sleep
- Tracks cut off mid-movement or stop arbitrarily
- Login session expires too quickly despite 'remember me' option
- Cannot connect to internet via WiFi (requires VPN workaround)
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Playlists disappear or fail to save
- Back button doesn't return to previous position in list
- Music pauses when notifications arrive
- App freezes or becomes unresponsive
- Search dialog has poor contrast making cursor invisible
- Saved playlists erased after updates
- Track information displays incorrectly during playback
- App cuts out at end of tracks when switching focus
- Shuffle button fails to function
- Hiccup at beginning of each track on iPadOS
- App only plays one track then stops
Requested features
15 requests- Dark mode support
- Interactive widgets
- Landscape orientation support for tablets/iPads
- Chromecast and AirPlay support
- Background music playback while using other apps
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Track scrubbing/fast-forward capability
- Shuffle feature for favorites list
- Custom playlist and folder organization
- Ability to organize favorites into named categories
- Face recognition login
- Album-level saving instead of track-only playlists
- Better metadata display (composer, performer information)
- Retina display support
- iPad-specific app version
- Improved search with catalog number support
Met Opera on Demand
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes on launch
- Playback issues and freezing
- Subscription and login problems
- Inconsistent performance across devices
Requested features
5 requests- Offline viewing and download options
- Improved Airplay and TV integration
- Bookmark and resume playback functionality
- Enhanced search and browsing capabilities
- Smoother login and subscription experience
In-app purchases
NML
No in-app purchases
Met Opera on Demand
- Met Opera on Demand7 Days trial$14.991 Month
- Met Opera on Demand$149.991 Year
Questions
Is NML free?
Is Met Opera on Demand free?
Which has better reviews, NML or Met Opera on Demand?
Do NML or Met Opera on Demand have ads?
Which is updated more often, NML or Met Opera on Demand?
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